HUM 2234 Enlightenment and Romanticism

Fall 2016 Syllabus and Schedule

Instructor: Dr. Lisa Vigil
Meets: Online class format only
Email: [email protected]; I check daily.
Textbooks: The textbook for this class is published by Valencia College. The front cover reads
Humanities: Enlightenment and Romanticism It is a book by Gloria Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition,
seventh edition. This information you will see on p.xvi in the Letter from the Author. It is available in the
College bookstore.
Course Prerequisites: Students must have reliable access to a computer and internet access as this is an
online class. This is a Gordon Rule course and thus there is a heavy writing requirement. Weekly review
questions and journal entries count towards the writing requirement. Students are also required to turn
in papers as part of their grade so students should be able to write competently.
Academic Advising: All students, in particular recent high school graduates, are strongly encouraged to
meet with academic advisors. Advising is a process in which students and advisors set goals for academic
success. It is a collaborative process, however , the student is ultimately responsible and in charge of his
or her academic life.
Academic Honesty: Please familiarize yourself with the colleges policies regarding academic honesty.
Do not copy from other students, textbooks, or internet sources without appropriate citations. Sources
used to write papers must be cited in the students paper. Students must write their own papers.
Students caught cheating may receive an F for the class.
Accommodations: Students requiring accommodations must submit necessary documents to me as
soon as possible so that needs can be addressed.
Student Conduct: Students at Valencia College are expected to adhere to the rules of conduct (Student
Rules of Conduct) which are found in the Valencia Student Handbook.
Withdrawal: Students unable to fulfill the course requirements must officially withdraw from the course
before the deadline in order to receive a grade of W. Students who do not complete the first weeks
assignments will be withdrawn from the class. Failure to submit required papers will result in
withdrawal from the course.
Extra Credit: I do not give out extra credit assignments on an individual basis. Please keep up with
assignments.

Grade: Coursework for this class consists of reading the chapters, reading supplemental power points
on Blackboard for each chapter, and watching assigned videos. There is no blog for this course. Grades
are based on the following:
Activity
Review questions
Journal entries
3 Papers
2 exams

Percentage of Grade
10% (10 points per week)
10% (10 points per week)
60 % (20 %each)
20% (10% each)

Attendance policy: Weekly review questions and journal entries count as attendance. These must be
completed each week on time in order to receive credit. Please keep up with assignments! Students
who do not complete assignments during the first week of class will be withdrawn from the course.
Students failing to submit papers and weekly assignments will be withdrawn.
Review questions: Review questions are assigned for ten weeks and cover material from the weeks
chapter and the power point. These questions are meant to ensure that students understand the main
points covered each week. Questions can be viewed at the end of each power point and also under
Assignments in Blackboard where they are to be answered. Please answer in complete sentences.
Check for comments after the grade has been given- comments will point out areas where the student
needs to improve. Please put some effort into the answers as they count towards the writing
requirement. Weekly marks for these review questions are important as they factor into the final grade
for the class. There are ten weeks of Review questions and they are worth 10 points a week. All Review
questions must be completed each week to get credit!
Journal entries: There are ten journal entries assigned for this course and the entries cover material in
the videos. Each journal entry is worth ten points. These entries will be assigned and are to be posted
via Blackboard in Assignments. All journal entries must be completed to get credit. If unable to work
the journal link, please feel free to email your entry by the deadline: [email protected]
Journal 1 This journal entry is about you. Please tell me a little about yourself including your major if you
have selected one, and what your plans are for your academic or professional future. (350 words).
Journal 2 After watching the video, write 350 words explaining why landscape paintings were important
to the Dutch. Name two artists who were well known for their landscape paintings. (350 words)
Journal 3 After watching the video write 350 words explaining how Equiano rose above his struggles and
worked to put an end to the enslavement of Africans?
Journal 4 After reading chapter 25 and watching the video, write 250 words giving possible reasons why
the farmers of the Vendee rebelled on the revolutionaries. (250 words)
Journal 5 How did David use painting to support political causes? (350 words)

Journal 6 How did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spend his childhood? Would you have liked a childhood
like that or would you wish that childhood for your children? (350 words)
Journal 7 What inspired the poetry of William Wordsworth? (250 words)
Journal 8 How did Turner address social issues in some of his paintings? Please give specific examples.
(350 words)
Journal 9 How did the Bronte sisters contribute to literature? (250 words)
Journal 10 How does Realism differ from Romanticism? (250 words)

Videos: Videos have been selected for most weeks to compliment what has been covered in that
weeks chapter and Power Point presentation. Keep in mind these videos are instructive; they are not
summer blockbuster movies. Ive tried to pick videos that are interesting, however, everyones taste is
different. The videos are also meant to substitute time students would be sitting in the classroom. These
videos are part of the class and therefore mandatory. Journal entries cover material from the videos.
Please be honest and watch them. All videos are available for viewing through the Valencia College
library website. Direct links are given in Blackboard in Course Content, but if a link fails (computers can
be moody) all titles are supplied and all films chosen are available through the library database: Films on
Demand. Titles are as follows:
Week 2: Boom and Bust: High Art in the Low Countries
Week 3: John Locke, and Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations
Week 4: A Son of Africa
Week 5: The Battle of Cholet: 1794
Week 6: The Power of Art: David
Week 7: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Concise Biography
Week 9: A Concise Biography: William Wordsworth
Week 10: The Power of Art: Turner
Week 11: Why the Industrial Revolution Happened Here, and The Bronte Sisters
Week 12: The Romantics
Week 14: Realism: the Artistic Form of Truth

Papers: Topics for papers are listed below. Papers are to be submitted via Blackboard under Content.
Papers cover topics related to course material but which we have not necessarily reviewed in class.
Students may use the textbook as a reference but two other sources are required. Papers must include
proper citations and a bibliography. Students may use any format (APA, MLA or other) with which they
feel comfortable. Internet sources must come from the library database; no generic web sources (ie
Wikipedia) allowed. Printed sources from library encouraged when writing papers. Papers must meet
required work count for particular assignment or will be given a grade reduction. All papers must be
turned in to pass the class because the Gordon rule writing requirement must be met. I will post some
extra guidelines for writing papers the week before the first paper is due. Please read through
comments on the papers after they are graded so you can benefit from feedback.
Paper 1- Blaise Pascal- What contributions did he make to science? (1000 words)
Paper 2- What complaints did Romantic literary figures have about the Industrial Revolution? (1200
words)
Paper 3- Gothic Revival (Neomedievalism as it is now called)- what was it and what inspired it? (1200
words)
Exams: There will be two exams, a midterm and a final. During the week of the midterm no other
assignments are given. Exams will consist of short answer and one essay and will be open book and
open note but must be the students own work. Do not quote directly from textbook or power point.
They will not be timed. Students must get passing marks of at least 70% on each exam or no credit will
be given for the exam. The exams are not difficult and there is no excuse for failing an open book and
open note test.
Assignment schedule- Assignments must be completed on time! Please dont wait until the last minute
and quickly slap some answers together. Work thrown together in a rush looks that way and usually gets
a low mark.
Work is scheduled so that no more than two assignments are due any given week, whether it be review
questions, journal entry, or paper. On exam weeks no other work is assigned to keep things
manageable.
Week
1

Date
8/29-9/4

Topic
Introduction to course

Assignments due
Review questions due 9/4
Journal entry #1- due 9/4

9/5-9/11

Review questions due 9/11

Journal entry #2 due 9/11

9/12-9/18

9/19-9/25

Read ch.23 and Power Point; video

Boom and Bust: High Art in the
Low Countries
Read ch.24 and Power Point; videos:
John Locke and Adam Smith: The
Wealth of Nations
Read ch.25 pp. 153-158 and Power

Review questions- 9/18

Review questions due 9/25

Point lecture; video- A Son of

Africa
Read Ch. 25 pp.167-175 and power
point; video- The Battle of
Cholet:1794
Read ch.26 pp.176-199 and Power
Point lecture
Video- The Power of Art: David

Journal entry #3 due 9/25

Finish reading ch.26 pp.200-206;

Video-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
A Concise Biography
Midterm

Review questions due 10/16

Journal entry #6 due 10/16

Read ch.27 from pp.213-219

Nature and the Natural in
European Literature; Read power
point; video A Concise Biography:
William Wordsworth
Read ch.27 pp.221-238 and Power
Point lecture
Video- The Power of Art: Turner
Read chapter 28 and watch 2 videos:
1. Why the Industrial
Revolution Happened Here
2. The Bronte Sisters

Journal entry #7 due 10/30

Paper #2 due 10/30

9/26-10/2

Journal entry #4 due 10/2

Paper #1 due 10/2

10/3-10/9

10/10-10/16

10/17-10/23

10/24-10/30

10

10/31-11/6

11

11/7-11/13

12

11/14-11/20

Read ch. 29 & power point lecture

Video- The Romantics

Review Questions due 11/20

13

11/21-11/27

Happy Thanksgiving!

Paper 3 due 11/27

14

11/28-12/4

Read ch. 30 from p.300-318 &

power point lecture
Video- Realism: The Artistic Form
of Truth

Review questions due 12/4

Journal entry #10 due 12/4

15

12/5-12/11

Final Exam only

Final Exam due 12/11

Journal entry #5 due 10/9

Review questions due 10/9

Midterm due 10/23

Review Questions due 11/6

Journal entry # 8 due 11/6
Review questions due 11/13
Journal entry #9 due 11/13